Strawberry Jam Tarts

I originally made these tarts using left over pastry and meringue from a lemon meringue pie and thought that strawberry jam would have to do after running out of the lemon curd! These tarts are crisp on the outside with a soft and mellowy centre, however they're very sweet so maybe those of you with not such a sweet tooth could use lemon curd instead of jam to add a sharp tang.

Makes at least 12 normal sized tarts (using a cupcake tin) | Preparation time 35 minutes |Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the pastry

170g plain Flour

130g butter

35g icing sugar

1 egg, beaten

For the filling

Jar of strawberry jam

For the meringue

2 egg whites

115g caster sugar

1 tsp cornflour

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. First make the pastry. Measure the flour and butter into a food processor and blend together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Or if you don't have a processor rub the flour and butter between your fingers until breadcrumbs are formed.

3. Add the icing sugar, egg and one tablespoon of water and whizz again (or mix together with a spoon or your hands) until combined to a ball.

4. Tip the pastry onto a work surface and roll out to a 4mm thickness. Choose a round cutter that fits the size tarts you are making - you want the pastry to cover the sides of the tin holes and it's better for the pastry to be a bit too big rather than too small as it will shrink a bit during cooking.

5. Cut the circles of pastry out and place them in the tin - I prefer using a cutter with a crinkly edge for the prettiness of it but a straight edge cutter would also be fine

6. Cover in clingfilm and place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes to help prevent the pastry from shrinking when in the oven.

7. Take the tin out of the fridge and put one teaspoon of jam into each tart depending on the size of your tarts - be careful not to overfill as they may spill in the oven, and then place them in the middle shelf of the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.

8. Remove from the oven and leave in the tray to firm slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

9. While the tarts are cooking, make the meringue topping. Whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until soft peaks form. Add half the sugar, whisk for a couple of minutes, then add the rest of the sugar until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Add the cornflour and whisk again.

10. Once the tarts have cooled, pipe the meringue onto the jam. Fill a piping bag with the meringue and snip a 1-2cm hole in the end. Holding the bag upright, pipe the meringue onto the tart starting from the outside creating a swirl to the centre. If you don't have a piping bag, it's fine to just spread the meringue onto the tart using a palette knife.

11. To create the finishing touch, use a blow torch or a grill to caramelise and darken the meringue, rotating the tarts for an even look.

12. Serve warm or cold and enjoy!

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